The Illustrious Prince eBook

“Well,” he said, “we can only do
our best. The young man seems friendly enough.”

The Prime Minister nodded.

“It is precisely his friendliness which I fear,”
he said.

CHAPTER XVII. A GAY NIGHT IN PARIS

Mr. James B. Coulson was almost as much at home at
the Grand Hotel, Paris, as he had been at the Savoy
in London. His headquarters were at the American
Bar, where he approved of the cocktails, patronized
the highballs, and continually met fellow-countrymen
with whom he gossiped and visited various places of
amusement. His business during the daytime he
kept to himself, but he certainly was possessed of
a bagful of documents and drawings relating to sundry
patents connected with the manufacture of woollen
goods, the praises of which he was always ready to
sing in a most enthusiastic fashion.

Mr. Coulson was not a man whose acquaintance it was
difficult to make. From five to seven every afternoon,
scorning the attractions of the band outside and
the generally festive air which pervaded the great
tea rooms, he sat at the corner of the bar upon an
article of furniture which resembled more than anything
else an office stool, dividing his attention between
desultory conversation with any other gentleman who
might be indulging in a drink, and watching the billiards
in which some of his compatriots were usually competing.
It was not, so far as one might judge, a strenuous
life which Mr. Coulson was leading. He had been
known once or twice to yawn, and he had somewhat the
appearance of a man engaged in an earnest but at times
not altogether successful attempt to kill time.
Perhaps for that reason he made acquaintances with
a little more than his customary freedom. There
was a young Englishman, for instance, whose name,
it appeared, was Gaynsforth, with whom, after a drink
or two at the bar, he speedily became on almost intimate
terms.

Mr. Gaynsforth was a young man, apparently of good
breeding and some means. He was well dressed,
of cheerful disposition, knew something about the
woollen trade, and appeared to take a distinct liking
to his new friend. The two men, after having
talked business together for some time, arranged to
dine together and have what they called a gay evening.
They retired to their various apartments to change,
Mr. Gaynsforth perfectly well satisfied with his progress,
Mr. James B. Coulson with a broad grin upon his face.

After a very excellent dinner, for which Mr. Gaynsforth
insisted upon paying, they went to the Folies Bergeres,
where the Englishman developed a thirst which, considering
the coolness of the evening, was nothing short of
amazing. Mr. Coulson, however, kept pace with
him steadily, and toward midnight their acquaintance
had steadily progressed until they were certainly on
friendly if not affectionate terms. A round of
the supper places, proposed by the Englishman, was